Here's the thing thinking of getting one and my software is v19 don't want to keep paying the big M

CPS and firmware version are 2 different things.

The CPS subscription is paid for once, good for as long as you want, and Motorola provides 3 years of free updates. Firmware is regularly posted on MOL as available files by model and can only be utilized by someone with a refresh flashkey that has available flashes. (The only exception is APX for public safety radios where Motorola provides the ability to do firmware uploads for free.)